Video: Bob Takano - Failed vs. Successful Snatch Analysis

EDITOR'S NOTE: Check here every Wednesday for a new coaching video from Bob Takano. Learn how to be a better lifter and a better Olympic lifting coach from one of the best.

Even if you just started lifting, you can probably tell that small tweaks in your technique make all the difference. This week we compare a failed snatch with a successful one. I am going to use Art Asatoorian's lifts at a recent meet at Waxman’s Gym in Lawndale as example.

We decided to go up 5kg for Art’s second meet after his easy opener with 57kg. In this second lift he makes the shift to power position but the pressure on his feet is not fully on the ball of the foot. This prevents him from fulling extending his ankles and hips and results in a slower, shorter pull. The result is a miss to the front.

This is definitely a makeable weight. What I am describing here is what I see as a coach in the competition. Newer coaches must develop the coaching eye to see these faults, and make corrections for the next lift.

On his third attempt, Art was able to make the correction so that the center of pressure was further forward on the balls of his feet. This allowed him to extend fully with ankles, knees and hips and position the weight overhead for his best technical lift of the series! He actually had the least amount of forward hop on this lift. A great way to come back after a miss - with a technically sound, well executed lift.

Bob Takano is a highly respected weightlifting coach who was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contributions to coaching. He has been the coach of four national champions, two national record holders, and 27 top ten nationally ranked lifters. Bob has been on the coaching staffs of 17 U.S. National teams to international competitions, five of those being World Championships. His lifters have competed in seven Olympic Trials with one, Albert Hood, the third American... Read More